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Arabic Script: Mightier than the Sword
Arabic Script: Mightier than the Sword
The phrase 'the pen is mightier than the sword' expresses a
universal recognition of the power of the written word.
A defining feature of Islamic civilisation has been its
widespread use of writing. Writing has a profound significance
because Arabic was both the language of God's revelation to the
Prophet Muhammad in the early seventh century AD and the script in
which the Qur'an, the holy book of Muslims, was written down.
The Arabic language spread geographically with Islam. It was
generally learned alongside local languages but the Arabic script
often displaced local scripts. It has been used to write many
languages, including Persian in Iran and Urdu in India. It is now
the most commonly written script after the Roman alphabet.
From very early on Arabic script also began to be used for its
decorative potential. Islamic art has, as a result, rightly been
described as a 'speaking art'. The objects in this tour have Arabic
script inscribed upon them or are connected to the art of writing.
Together they show the continuing importance of Arabic in the
cultures of what we can broadly call the Islamic lands.
The tour was written to accompany the exhibition
Mightier than the Sword, Arabic Script: Beauty and
Meaning, which was first shown at the Ian Potter Museum of
Art, University of Melbourne, Australia, in 2003. Many other
objects decorated with Arabic script can be seen in Room 34 at
the British Museum.
Illustration: Frolicking horses by
Ahmed Moustafa.